Each year, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) selects a small number of incoming NYU Law LLM students to take part in the Transitional Justice Leadership Program. Developed in consultation with prominent figures in the transitional justice field, the program provides an opportunity for LLM students to engage through coursework, scholarship, and internships with CHRGJ’s Transitional Justice Project, which brings together teaching, documentation, research, and convenings on topics such as criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, institutional reform, and reparations programs in countries undergoing a transition to democracy in the aftermath of conflict or of authoritarianism. The Transitional Justice Project is led by Professor Pablo de Greiff, who served as UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence from May 2012 through May 2018.

“The Transitional Justice Scholars Program offered me an unmatched opportunity to develop my expertise in this vibrant field and to move my career toward the next stages.”
Jorge Carlos Peniche Baqueiro, Transitional Justice Scholar ’16-17
Program Components
The classroom component of the program is Transitional Justice, a Spring 2021 course taught by Professor de Greiff. The course offers insight into the legal, moral, and political questions governments and civil society must confront as they seek to come to terms with a legacy of human rights violations. Students admitted to the leadership program are guaranteed enrollment in this course and are required to take it.*
Transitional Justice Scholars will take part in monthly meetings organized by CHRGJ. These will take the form of discussions with experts and writing workshops, as well as other activities identified in collaboration with Scholars.
Scholarship is vital to preparing students for careers in transitional justice, so Scholars are expected to develop original works of legal scholarship to submit to the annual International Law and Human Rights Emerging Scholarship Conference, a forum that provides students with the unique opportunity to receive detailed feedback from experts and peers in order to prepare work of publishable quality. CHRGJ faculty and staff will be available to offer guidance with these projects.
Scholars receive guidance in obtaining academic-year internships and research opportunities with human rights organizations, such as the International Center for Transitional Justice. Those interested in working directly with Professor de Greiff may have the opportunity to provide research assistance for academic credit.
As Scholars look to their time after the LLM program, CHRGJ offers guidance on seeking internships in a variety of transitional justice institutions, such as truth commissions, courts, reparations programs, and local human rights organizations in countries throughout the world. Funding from NYU to pursue these opportunities is available through competitive application to the International Law and Human Rights Student Fellowship Program.
* Students not selected for the program may still register for the course through the normal registration process; however, as with all NYU Law courses, enrollment for those outside the program is not guaranteed.
Application Instructions
The application cycle for 2022-2023 is closed. Applications for 2023-2024 will be accepted starting in mid-July 2023.
Current Scholars
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Alex Hughes
2021-2022 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Barbara Baznath
2021-2022 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Chia-Ching Chen
2021-2022 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Genesis Davila
2021-2022 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Maiko Takeuchi
2021-2022 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Paulina Araiza Lozano
2021-2022 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Sarah Banton
2021-2022 Transitional Justice Scholar
Previous Scholars
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Jessica Buchler
2020-2021 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Katie Coyle
2020-2021 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Lucia Monda
2020-2021 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Pamela Susana Velázquez Zambrano
2020-2021 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Walter Elochukwu Abah
2020-2021 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Natalie Druce
2019-2020 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Doris Matu
2019-2020 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Daniela Pedraza Moreno
2019-2020 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Chew Fei Phang
2019-2020 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Tanishtha Vaid
2019-2020 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Julie Bloch
2018-2019 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Estefania Giaccone
2018-2019 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Carla Leiva
2018-2019 Transitional Justice Scholar
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S. Priya Morley
2018-2019 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Cláudio Cerqueira B. Netto
2018-2019 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Tutku Bektas
2017-2018 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Michaela Bolton
2017-2018 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Paola Molano
2017-2018 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Kaitlin Owens
2017-2018 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Duru Yavan
2017-2018 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Claudia Henfry
2016-2017 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Emilio Gallardo Cornejo
2016-2017 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Jorge Carlos Peniche Baqueiro
2016-2017 Transitional Justice Scholar
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María Francisca Gallegos-Anda Naranjo
2016-2017 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Sherin Shefik
2016-2017 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Diana Maquilon Tamayo
2015-2016 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Valeria Vegh Weis
2015-2016 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Malsirini de Silva
2015-2016 Transitional Justice Scholar
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Eleanor Vermunt
2015-2016 Transitional Justice Scholar